DIY: Garden Kneeling Pad

August 6, 2014

Ready to do a little spring planting or repot a few houseplants? Spoonflower help team member Theresa is here to show you how to sew up a simple garden kneeling pad out of our 45% recycled Eco Canvas. Read on for the how-to!

Theresa: I cannot believe spring is finally here! To try and make the most of the season, I decided to sew up a kneeling pad to use for some herb gardening projects I want to tackle out on my porch. I was inspired by the Herb Garden Design Challenge, there were so many awesome garden-inspired fabrics to choose from! I went with a hand-lettered design by Nadia Hassan and ordered one yard of it on Spoonflower’s durable 45% recycled Eco Canvas.

Gather up your materials

1. One yard of medium weight fabric

*I used Spoonflower’s Eco Canvas, and you’ll have plenty of fabric left over!

2. Several feet of of 1 inch wide elastic

3. Basic sewing supplies (pins, hand sewing needle, scissors, ruler)

5. Funnel (rolled up paper works just fine)

6. Buckwheat hulls, flaxseed, any other small seeds or rice

7. Fabric pencil

To get started, cut your yard of fabric into a 12 X 36 inch piece. Fold that in half, right sides facing (should be 12 x 18 inches). Next, pin a pair of elastic loops — mine were roughly 6 or 7 inches long, folded– into the seam opposite the fold, so that they are sandwiched into the fabric with all raw edges lining up.

Head to your machine and sew up two sides of your rectangle using a ¼ inch seam allowance, then turn right side out. You always want to match your thread type with your fabric type, so I used a sturdy polyester thread for sewing this project and a universal needle.

Using a fabric pencil, lightly draw a series of lines parallel to the fold and 1 ½- 2 inches apart down the length of the project. Make sure to use a straightedge to draw your lines so they’re perfectly straight, and again just draw lightly or you will be scrubbing your line guides out later!

Now, topstitch the lines to create the long pockets on your kneeling pad.

I just used a rolled up piece of paper, but if you happen to have a funnel on hand, use that to fill the pockets with buckwheat hulls, flaxseed, or anything else that may be hiding in your pantry that could work. To finish, either hand sew up the last side with a slip stitch (blind stitch) or machine stitch a double hem if you prefer.

You’re done! Use the elastic loops to hang up your kneeling pad when you’re not using it or just roll it up and secure it with the loops before storing it away. Happy gardening!

No crocs here! Gardening barefoot just enhances the experience.

About the Author

In addition to gardening and being a part of the Spoonflower Marketing team, Theresa keeps busy working on art projects, loving on her mutt, Olive, dancing, and attempting to recreate her grandmother’s Italian recipes. Check out some of Theresa’s surface designs in her Spoonflower shop.

My first thought (at least thinking of my own garden) is, “That’s going to get muddy fast!” I wonder if there’s a way to do a washable version without to much fancy stitching or laborious unfilling/refilling?

Perhaps use a dark coloured print or lay down a small sheet of plastic and scotch gard the top side to avoid it becoming too dirty.
This could be good fir all kinds of tasks that require kneeling. Cleaning etc

This post was originally written 2 years ago, and let me tell you it has seen its share of mud and dirt since then and is no longer looking this bright white! A great option would be to use a Drylok bag: http://www.advantek.com/products/barrier-bags.php or to just sew this project (in any old fabric) and create a separate cover that you could take off and wash

a dark colored fabric would definitely help hide dirt– but when you’re out in the garden, a little dirt is just par for the course! This can definitely be used for any kneeling task, including sewing projects in which one is working on the floor because it’s the only work surface big enough! 🙂